Rafa Nadal’s PokerStars ad

Rafa Nadal is missing from the current US Open tennis action due to injury but is keeping his competitive juices flowing at the PokerStars tables.

The multiple Grand Slam winner signed on as an ambassador the site last month and has been honing his game on the site’s new mobile phone app as can be seen in the latest PokerStars advert.

“I’m still quite new to playing poker and am focused on becoming a better player, so I really didn’t need to act very hard when shooting these scenes,” Nadal said. “Since PokerStars now has a mobile app, I can play with friends wherever I go, whether it’s on my mobile phone or tablet.“My friends know I’m naturally competitive, which has served me well in my tennis career, I’m hoping some of the skills I’ve developed on the court will help me improve my poker game.”

The ad was filmed in Barcelona earlier this year and featured 50 crew, 80 extras and even a Nadal body double. It will air in the UK from next week.

Tuesday is the deadline for all working Americans to have submitted their income tax returns to the federal government and Juicy Stakes and Intertops Poker are set to mark this annual occasion by holding a special freeroll competition featuring a $1,000 top prize.

“We run a lot of higher stakes tournaments for our more hard-core players,” said Intertops’ poker manager. “But since our network is generally pretty soft, we created this series to give less competitive players a shot at winning.”